In his farewell match, South Africa's stand-in captain Dean Elgar won the toss and chose to bat first in the second Test against India, in Cape Town. India made two changes to their team - Ravindra Jadeja replaced Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner and pacer Mukesh Kumar made his way into the XI in place of Shardul Thakur. (Match Blog | Scorecard)
As for South Africa, there were three changes in the playing XI. Lungi Ngidi was drafted in, in place of Gerald Coetzee, Tristan Stubbs made his debut, replacing injured skipper Temba Bavuma and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj came in for Keegan Petersen.
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After losing the toss, Rohit Sharma said he would've batted first as well. "Looks a good pitch. We understand the challenge of batting first on that pitch, but nevertheless, there will be enough in the pitch for the seamers, so hopefully we'll cash in on it."
He added, "It is important to forget what's happened in the past. We understand the importance of getting runs on the board, and getting 20 wickets. Didn't happen in the first game but we're upbeat about what we can achieve here."
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Elgar, on the other hand, said, "The pitch looks interesting. We're in a great position. Can't win a two-match series if you don't win the first - we've crossed that hurdle."
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He added, "The scoreboard starts on nought. We all know that. Starting well is going to be key against this Indian side."
After receiving a harsh reality check in the first Test at the hands of an inspired Proteas pace attack, the Indian batting unit will be looking to make amends and resurrect its reputation as an improved bunch in testing overseas conditions. For the bowlers, meanwhile, it is time to step up and be counted after the hammering they received in the second innings.
The series was billed as India's final frontier - the only major Test-playing venue where the nation hasn't won a Test series yet. As fate and circumstances would have it, the frontier will continue to remain an unbreached one, as India can only draw the series 1-1 from here on.
It is also a significant match for South Africa cricket as Dean Elgar, one of their foremeost contemporary servants in the red-ball format, will retire after this Test. With Temba Bavuma suffering an injury during the first Test, Elgar will be the stand-in captain for this game and his team would like nothing more than to give him the perfect parting present - a series-sweeping win.
Line-Ups
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
